The Trial (2010 film)
Encyclopedia
The Trial is a 2010 drama film starring Matthew Modine
. It is based on the novel of the same name by Robert Whitlow
.
. Reception has been mostly positive, with Lawrence Toppelman of The Charlotte Observer
saying in his review; "The actors are all comfortable in this familiar emotional territory. The low-key Modine seems most at home as the burned-out McClain, but he finally rises to the right level of passionate intensity by the end. Carey is both maternal and romantic, and Gunton – whose 30-year film career seems like an unbroken string of villains, most memorably in “The Shawshank Redemption” – is more subtle and interesting here than usual."
"'The Trial' combines the best features of courtroom drama, murder mystery and character story. 'The Trial' is a powerful drama which shows the power of healing and hope."
Matthew Modine
Matthew Avery Modine is an award-winning American actor. His film roles include Private Joker in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, the title character in Alan Parker's Birdy, high school wrestler Louden Swain in Vision Quest, football star turned spy Alec McCall in Funky Monkey and the...
. It is based on the novel of the same name by Robert Whitlow
Robert Whitlow
Robert Whitlow is a film-maker and a best-selling author of eight legal thrillers. He is also a contributor to a short story The Rescuers, a story included in the book What The Wind Picked Up by The ChiLibris Ring...
.
Plot
After his two sons and wife die in a horrific car crash, suicide seems to be the only escape for small town attorney Kent "Mac" McClainas until he's assigned a capital punishment involving the murder of the daughter of a powerful business man who was drugged. All the odds seem stacked against McClain as he loses the case. After losing the case McClain manages to save the accused mans life by getting him off death row. At the end of the movie it is discovered by a private investigator that it was someone else who committed the murder and the accused is exonerated.Cast
- Matthew ModineMatthew ModineMatthew Avery Modine is an award-winning American actor. His film roles include Private Joker in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, the title character in Alan Parker's Birdy, high school wrestler Louden Swain in Vision Quest, football star turned spy Alec McCall in Funky Monkey and the...
as Mac - Robert ForsterRobert ForsterRobert Forster is an American actor, best known for his roles as John Cassellis in Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool, and as Max Cherry in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, the latter of which gained him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.- Early life :Forster was born Robert Wallace...
as Ray - Clare Carey as Dr. Anna Wilkes
- Bob GuntonBob GuntonRobert Patrick "Bob" Gunton, Jr. is an American actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters, with his best known roles as Warden Samuel Norton in the 1994 prison film The Shawshank Redemption, Chief George Earle in 1993's Demolition Man, and President Juan Peron in the original...
as Joe Whetstone - Randy WayneRandy WayneRandy Wayne is an American actor.Wayne was born and raised in Moore, Oklahoma. He appeared on the 2002 season of the British reality show Shipwrecked, which led to guest appearances on the television shows The Closer, Huff, NCIS, Jack & Bobby, and Numb3rs as well as a series regular role as the...
as Pete Thomason - Rance HowardRance HowardRance Howard is an American actor who has starred in film and on television.-Life and career:Howard was born Harold Rance Beckenholdt in Oklahoma, the son of Ethel Cleo and Engel Beckenholdt, a farmer. He changed his name to "Rance Howard" when he became an actor. He married Jean Speegle Howard...
as Judge Danielson - Nikki DeloachNikki DeLoachAshlee Nicole DeLoach is an American actress known as Nikki DeLoach.-Life and career:DeLoach was born in Waycross, Georgia. DeLoach was a member of the Georgia 4-H Performing Arts group Clovers & Company from 1991 to 1994. She then joined the The New Mickey Mouse Club in 1993.In 1998, she became a...
as Mindy - Burgess JenkinsBurgess JenkinsBurgess Jenkins is a film actor known for work in the 2000 film Remember The Titans opposite Academy Award winner Denzel Washington; as Hilary Swank's husband David Winter in The Reaping...
as Harry
Production
Filming took place in Charlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
. Reception has been mostly positive, with Lawrence Toppelman of The Charlotte Observer
The Charlotte Observer
The Charlotte Observer, serving Charlotte, North Carolina and its metro area, is the largest newspaper, in terms of circulation, in North Carolina and South Carolina...
saying in his review; "The actors are all comfortable in this familiar emotional territory. The low-key Modine seems most at home as the burned-out McClain, but he finally rises to the right level of passionate intensity by the end. Carey is both maternal and romantic, and Gunton – whose 30-year film career seems like an unbroken string of villains, most memorably in “The Shawshank Redemption” – is more subtle and interesting here than usual."
Awards
"The Trial" was awarded the Parents Television Council's Seal of Approval™. The PTC said:"'The Trial' combines the best features of courtroom drama, murder mystery and character story. 'The Trial' is a powerful drama which shows the power of healing and hope."